1760s

Rosemount, New Ross, Co Wexford 

by jenjunebug

Rosemount, New Ross, Co Wexford 

Mark Bence-Jones.  A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 246. “An elegant C18 house of two storeys over a basement and five bays. Fanlighted doorway with diamond astragals; impressive perron with double stairs and ironwork railings in front of it. The seat of the Rossiter family, afterwards of the Byrne family, from whom it passed by inheritance to the Place family.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15702901/rosemount-house-originally-mount-elliott-house-mountelliott-co-wexford

Rosemount House originally Mount Elliott House, MOUNTELLIOTT, County Wexford 

Detached five-bay two-storey double-pile over part raised basement country house, built 1761; extant 1777, on a rectangular plan with single-bay (single-bay deep) full-height central return (south). Occupied, 1901; 1911. Burnt, 1925. Sold, 1972. Resold, 1982. Burnt, 1997. Restored, 1998-2002. Replacement pitched slate roof on a T-shaped plan behind parapet abutting zinc-covered flat roofs (south), clay ridge tiles, lichen-covered cut-granite coping to gables with cement rendered chimney stacks to apexes having “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice capping supporting ribbed yellow terracotta pots, and concealed rainwater goods retaining cast-iron octagonal or ogee hoppers and downpipes. Roughcast walls bellcast over rendered plinth with cut-granite “Cyma Recta” or “Cyma Reversa” cornice below granite ashlar parapet; replacement cement rendered, ruled and lined surface finish to rear (south) elevation. Round-headed central door opening approached by “perron” of cut-granite steps between wrought iron railings with cut-granite block-and-start surround centred on keystone framing glazed timber panelled door having overlight. Square-headed window openings with cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing replacement nine-over-nine sash windows having exposed sash boxes. Square-headed window openings to rear (south) elevation centred on square-headed window opening (half-landing), cut-granite sills, and concealed dressings framing nine-over-nine sash windows centred on nine-over-nine sash window having part exposed sash box. Set in landscaped grounds on an elevated site. 

Appraisal 

A country house representing an important component of the mid eighteenth-century domestic built heritage of the rural environs of New Ross with the architectural value of the composition, one annotated as “Mount Elliott [of] Garret Esquire” by Taylor and Skinner (1778 pl. 134), confirmed by such attributes as the deliberate alignment maximising on panoramic vistas overlooking the meandering River Barrow with its gently rolling backdrop; the compact rectilinear plan form centred on a Gibbsian-like doorcase not only demonstrating good quality workmanship in a silver-grey granite, but also showing a sinuous overlight; the definition of the principal floor as a slightly elevated “piano nobile”; the diminishing in scale of the openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression; and the parapeted roofline. Having been successfully restored following a calamitous fire, the elementary form and massing survive intact together with quantities of the original or replicated fabric, both to the exterior and to the interior, thus upholding the character or integrity of the composition. Furthermore, adjacent outbuildings (extant 1902); a nearby folly or summerhouse (see 15702902); and a “picturesque” gate lodge (see 15702903), all continue to contribute positively to the group and setting values of an estate having historic connections with the Rossiter family (Lewis 1837 II, 531-2); the Byrne family including James Edmond Byrne JP (d. 1898) and Edmond Allen Byrne JP (d. 1900) ‘late of Rosemount New Ross County Wexford’ (Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1900, 52; 1901, 50); the Place family including Thomas Dumayne Place JP (d. 1922), ‘Farmer [and] Landowner’ (NA 1901; NA 1911); John Alfred Place (d. 1923); Edmund Byrne Place (d. 1925) ‘who, fortified by the rites of the church, died…of injuries received in the burning of Rosemount’; and Alfred Dumayne Place (d. 1972); and Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas (1922-94) of “Kojak” fame. 

Twyford, Athlone, Co Westmeath

by jenjunebug

Twyford, Athlone, Co Westmeath

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 279. “Handcock, Castlemaine, B/PB) A two storey five bay C18 house with single-storey one bay wings. The windows on either side of the centre of the main block are grouped together. Originally owned by the Handcock family, from whom were descended the Lords Castlemaine; passed 1790s to the Hodson family, who owned it until 1960.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15402911/twyford-house-twyford-co-westmeath

Twyford House, TWYFORD, County Westmeath 

Detached five-bay two-storey over basement country house, built c.1760, having single-bay wings to either end (east and west) a three-storey elevation to the rear (north). Now out of use and derelict. Pitched natural slate roof with remains of cast-iron rainwater goods and a rendered brick chimneystack to either end having terracotta pots over. Lime roughcast rendered walls, now failing in places exposing rubble stone construction beneath. Square-headed openings having cut stone sills and the remains of six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows. Central square-headed doorcase having dressed limestone surround, timber sheeted door and having the remains of an overlight above. Set back from road in extensive grounds with main entrance to the south and an extensive complex of outbuildings to the rear, arranged around two courtyards (15402912). Located to the east of Athlone. 

Appraisal 

The substantial remains of a well-proportioned eighteenth century house, which retains its early form, character and form despite its now dilapidated condition. The cut stone doorcase helps to enliven the rather plain front façade of this house. This form of this building almost reflects a blend between the vernacular and the more formal architectural traditions. Twyford House was originally built by the Handcock Family of Waterstown House, Glassan, but passed into the ownership of the Hodson Family, c.1795, who resided here until it was abandoned c.1960. It forms part of an interesting group of related structures along with the outbuildings (15402912) to the rear and remains an integral component of the architectural heritage of Westmeath. 

In Blake, Tarquin. Abandoned Mansions of Ireland II: More Portraits of Forgotten Stately Homes. Collins Press, Cork, 2012. 

Meares Court, Mullingar, Co Westmeath

by jenjunebug

Meares Court, Mullingar, Co Westmeath

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 204. “Meares/LG1937 supp; Winter, sub Purdon/IFR; Lister-Kaye, Bt/Pb) A three storey early and late C18 house. Five bay front, central Venetian window above doorway with pediment on two columns. Wall carried up to be roof parapet with urns.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401711/meares-court-rowlandstown-co-westmeath

Detached five-bay three-storey over basement Palladian country house, built c.1760, possibly incorporating the remains of earlier buildings, including a Medieval tower house. Now in use as a guesthouse. Hipped natural slate roof partially hidden behind raised parapet with ashlar limestone coping over. Pair of ashlar limestone chimneystacks to centre. Roughcast lime rendered walls. Square-headed window openings (diminishing in size towards top) with cut stone sills. One-over-one pane timber sash windows to first and second floor openings and three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows to second floor openings. Moulded ashlar limestone architraves having entablatures over to ground floor openings, raised dressed limestone surrounds with keystones to first floor openings and plain dressed limestone surrounds to second floor openings. Central ashlar limestone pedimented Doric doorcase with glazed timber double-doors and sidelights to south façade (entrance) with Venetian window over to first floor and Diocletian above the second floor. Flight of cut limestone steps, flanked by low plinth walls (with ashlar limestone coping) to east and west, give access to main entrance. Set back from road in extensive parkland demesne grounds with complex of outbuildings/stable block (154017012) to west and a walled garden to the rear (15401713). 

Appraisal 

An interesting house employing the classic Irish Palladian formula of a central tripartite doorcase with a Venetian window over to the first floor and a Diocletian window above to the second floor. This substantial structure retains its early form and character and a great deal of its early fabric and fittings. The good ashlar limestone surrounds to the window openings and the very fine Doric doorcase help to enliven the front façade. The unusually squat appearance suggests that this house incorporates earlier fabric, a suggestion supported by the relatively blank and slightly battered rear façade (north), the irregular fenestration pattern to the rear and by the presence of a number of long narrow timber sash windows, of early eighteenth-century appearance, to the west end of the rear façade (north). Reputedly, a tower house abutted Meares Court to the rear until the early nineteenth-century. A finely detailed doorcase of late-seventeenth or early eighteenth-century appearance (15401715), built into the boundary wall adjacent to the main entrance gates, may have come from an earlier country house at Meares Court, or perhaps was moved following a later remodelling of the present structure. The present house was built by the Meare’s Family and was the seat of John Meares in 1786 and of J. Devenish Meares, Esq., in 1837. Meares Court stands almost fortress-like in the centre of attractive mature parkland and forms the centrepiece of an interesting collection of demesne-related structures, along with the substantial stable block to the west and the walled garden (15401713) to the rear. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401712/meares-court-rowlandstown-co-westmeath

Stable block on U-shaped plan, built c.1840, comprising two-storey ranges to east and west with a three-bay two-storey advanced pedimented three-bay two-storey section to centre of north range with cupola over. Located to west side of Meares Court. Pitched and hipped natural slate roofs with cut stone chimneystacks. Constructed of coursed rubble limestone with ashlar limestone trim. Square-headed window openings with cut stone sills and plain ashlar surrounds having paired multipane timber casement windows. Square-headed doorcases with dressed limestone lintels over supported on ashlar brackets having mixture of timber panelled and timber sheeted doors. Three segmental-headed carriage arches to pedimented section to north, comprising central entrance flanked by coach houses to east and west. Cut limestone gate piers on square plan and wrought-iron double-gates to south giving access to courtyard. with to the west of Meares Court. 

Appraisal 

A very fine stable block complex associated with Meares Court, which retain its early form and character. This handsome complex is built in an imposing classical style, befitting the architectural quality of the main house itself. The design, proportions and quality of the ashlar limestone detailing is of a very high standard, marking this stable block as one of the finest of its date surviving in Co. Westmeath. The pedimented breakfront with cupola over is of a particularly high standard, further elevating this complex above its contemporaries. These former stable buildings are significant as part of a group of structures associated with the Meares Court demesne, as well as architecturally in their own right.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401713/meares-court-rowlandstown-co-westmeath

Walled Gardens, built between c.1760 and c.1850, to the rear (north) of Meares Court (15401711). Constructed of coursed rubble stone walling to the exterior with brick-lining to a number of the interior faces. 

Appraisal 

An extensive complex of walled gardens and associated structures to the rear of Meares Court House (15401711), which contributes positively to the group values and to the setting within this important demesne. They act as an interesting historical reminder of the extensive organisation and the high level of resources needed to maintain a large country demesne in Ireland during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15401714/meares-court-rowlandstown-co-westmeath

Entrance gates to Meares Court, erected c.1760, comprising a pair of ashlar limestone gate piers on square-plan (with basemoulds) with ashlar limestone capstones (in the form of full entablatures) over having ball finials. Cast-iron double gates. Pedestrian entrance to the west of main gates, comprising square-headed ashlar limestone doorcase with moulded architraves having cornice over supported on carved limestone brackets, c.1700. Gateway and doorcase set in section of rubble limestone estate wall to the south of Meares Court and adjacent to attendant gate lodge (west). 

Appraisal 

A handsome pair of ashlar limestone gate piers, of late eighteenth-century appearance, retaining early cast-iron gates. This gateway acts as a suitably fine first impression on entrance to the Meares Court demesne. The highly intricate doorcase built into the estate wall to the west of the main entrance gates is a curious discovery and a rare survivor. It is detailed in a style somewhat reminiscent of Baroque Classical, suggesting a late-seventeenth or early-eighteenth date, and it was presumably taken from an earlier house at or close to Meares Court. The good rubble limestone boundary wall to the west completes the setting. 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993.  

p. 106. “c. 1760. Large Palladian house built by the Meares family; the seat of John Meares in 1786. A rectangular block, three storeys over a semi-basement, with a hipped roof behind a parapet. Rough-cast, with limestone ashlar trim. The entrance front is of five bays, with a classic Irish Palladian centre bay: steps, a pedimented doorcase with side-lights, a Venetian window on the first floor and a Diocletian window above. The ground-floor windows have flat entablatures and moulded architraves. Plate glass replaces the original glazing. Although a sophisticated vocabulary is employed, the façade is awkward in its effect, perhaps because the relatively large windows are all cramped towards the centre of the block, leaving broad bands of plain walls at either end. Although this is a good deal less busy, there is a resemblance here to such amateur work as Drewstown House in Co Meath. 

In plan the house was originally L shaped: one room deep on the E and two rooms deep on the W, with the principal stair projecting as the leg of the L immediately behind the hall. In the later C18 a second room was added on the E to make the plan approximately rectangular. Two of the main rooms retain pretty rococo plasterwork in room cornices and coves. The stair is handsome, with three banisters per tread and an arcade of two arches across the landing at first-floor level. As in a Dublin town house, the back stairs are set immediatelybeside the main stair on the W and connect the basement to the attic floor.” 

Castle Pollard (formerly Kinturk), Co Westmeath  

by jenjunebug

Castle Pollard (formerly Kinturk), Co Westmeath  

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 74. (Pollard-Urquhart/LGI1958) A three storey five bay Georgian block enlarged and remodelled 1821 for W.D. Pollard by C.R. Cockerell, who added a single storey Greek Ionic portico, two short single-storey wings with blinkd walls and niches on the entrance front, and a wing on the garden front. Eaved roof; balustraded area. Cockerell also formed a new staircase hall, with an elegantly cantilevered brass-railed stair leading up to a spacious bedroom lobby lit by a coloured glass dome. Now an institution.” 

Casey, Christine and Alistair Rowan. The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster. Penguin Books, London, 1993.  

Clonard House, Dublin Road, Mullingar, County Westmeath 

https://theirishaesthete.com/2019/12/16/castlepollard/

In Poor Health

by theirishaesthete


Captain Nicholas Pollard was one of the many adventurous Englishmen who came to Ireland in the latter part of the 16th century and was rewarded by the government with a grant of land. Originally from Devon, Pollard arrived here as part of the Earl of Essex’s ill-fated expedition in 1599, but whereas his commander returned home in ignominy, Pollard remained and received land and the castle at Mayne in County Westmeath. His heir, also called Nicholas, settled slightly further to the east where he built a new castle and founded a town, which he duly named Castlepollard. His son Walter carried out further improvements in the area, having received from Charles II a patent for holding fairs and a weekly market in the new town. Walter’s son, another Walter, although he had served in Charles II’s army and was attached to the Stuart cause, nevertheless supported William III and in the aftermath of the Battle of the Boyne became a Member of Parliament, as well as being charged to raise supplies for the crown in Westmeath for a number of years. He died in 1718 and having been predeceased by his only son, the estate passed to his daughter Letitia who in 1696 had married Major Charles Hampson; the latter duly took his wife’s family name, Successive generations of Pollards then followed, none of whom made much of an impression outside the immediate locale, although in the 19th century some of them enjoyed respectable army careers. The family remained in residence until after the death of the last male heir, Francis Edward Romulus Pollard-Urquhart in 1915: two decades later the house and 110 acres were sold to a Roman Catholic religious order, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.





Standing on the outskirts of Castlepollard, the Pollards’ former residence is called Kinturk House. The core of the building is believed to date from c.1760 when it would have replaced an older castle either here or on an adjacent site. This work was undertaken because in 1763 the estate’s then-owner William Pollard married Isabella, daughter and heiress of John Morres. However, one must assume her inheritance was not enormous since Kinturk was only room deep. This changed in the 1820s when the house was enlarged and remodeled for its next resident, William Dutton Pollard by architect Charles Robert Cockerell, who had come to Ireland to work on another commission for the Naper family at Loughcrew. Cockerell doubled the depth of Kinturk and gave the garden front of the building a more imposing presence by increasing the number of bays (from five to seven) with a central breakfront. He also added a single-storey Ionic porch to the façade, and single storey extensions at either end. Inside, the most notable feature is the cantilevered Portland stone staircase with brass banisters but at least one of the ground floor reception rooms retains pretty rococo plasterwork from the 1760s.

Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.
Kinturk House or Castle Pollard, County Westmeath, photograph by Robert O’Byrne.





Within a few years of buying Kinturk House, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart embarked on a substantial building programme in the grounds, where they erected, among other structures, a chapel linked to the old residence by a corridor and a free-standing three-storey block intended to serve as a 120-bed Mother and Baby Home. All the new buildings, constructed between 1938-41 was designed in a starkly brutalist style by Dublin architect Thomas Joseph Cullen, who throughout a long career worked extensively for the Catholic church. The cost of this project was some £76,000, much of the money coming from the Hospital Sweepstakes Fund. Called St Peter’s, the home operated for 35 years and like other similar establishments elsewhere in the country – some of them also operated by the same religious order – has in recent years rightly been subjected to public scrutiny, not least because of the horrific conditions in which many young women and their new-born infants were required to live. Following the closure of the home, in 1971 the site was sold to the Midland Health Board, and then, like so many other buildings across the country, became the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Kinturk/St Peter’s thereafter provided residential care for the disabled until its closure was announced in 2014, shortly before a highly condemnatory inspection report on the facility was issued by the Health Information and Quality Authority. Today, two detached bungalows provide accommodation for ten residents. The rest of the site sits empty and neglected, the various properties visibly falling into disrepair. The original Kinturk House, of evident architectural merit, is closed up and increasingly dilapidated. This is, unfortunately, yet another instance of a state authority failing to look after the buildings supposed to be in its care and leaving it in poor health. As always, ultimately the citizens of Ireland (who own the place) will be the losers.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15302016/kinturk-house-kinturk-demesne-county-westmeath

Attached five-bay three-storey over basement country house, built c.1760. Remodelled and extended in 1821 with the addition of single-storey wings to either end (southwest and northeast) having round-headed niches, a freestanding tetrastyle Ionic porch to the centre of the main façade (northwest) and a large three-storey block to rear (southeast). Later in use as a convent and now in use as a hospital. Shallow hipped natural slate roof with four ashlar chimneystacks, cast-iron rainwater goodsand a moulded ashlar cornice at eaves level. Roughcast rendered walls above ground level, smooth rendered at basement level, separated by projecting cut-stone string course. Square-headed window openings having moulded limestone surrounds, cut stone sills and six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows. Square-headed doorcase behind porch having moulded cut stone surrounds and original timber panelled door. Flight of cut stone steps flanked to either side by balustraded parapets gives access to doorway over basement. Fine neoclassical interior with elegant plasterwork and joinery. Set in landscaped grounds shared with a number of hospital buildings, c.1935. 

The architectural quality and refinement are apparent in the design, execution and detailing of this fine country house. The impressive form and scale of this imposing house is emphasised by the symmetrical façade, a feature typically found in houses dating from the mid-Georgian Period. The interior is also noteworthy with some elegant rococo plasterwork and a fine staircase in Portland stone with brass balusters. The 1821 remodelling was carried out for William Pollard by the important architect C. R. Cockerell (1788-1867), who also carried out noteworthy work on Loughcrew House (Co. Meath) and the Gilson Endowed School (Oldcastle, Co. Meath) around the same time. The house has very important historical connections with the Pollard Family who were responsible for the development of Castlepollard during the early-seventeenth century and also the remodelling of the village in its present form c.1820. The house remained in Pollard hands until c.1935 when it was purchased by Sisters of Sacred Heart and used as a convent until 1971 when sold to Midland Health Board. This structure represents the focal point of an important and extensive range of demesne-related structures and contributes strongly to the architectural heritage of north Westmeath. 

Cranagh Castle, Templemore, Co Tipperary 

by jenjunebug

Cranagh Castle, Templemore, Co Tipperary 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London. 

p. 93. “(Lloyd/IFR) A three storey house of 1768 built on to a medieval round tower. Five bay front with a central Venetian window over round-headed doorway with blocking and sidelights. Curved bow at one end, possibly intended to balance the old round tower, which can be seen in juxtaposition with it at the side of the house. Eaved roof, presumably C19.” 

not in National Inventory 

 
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=C 

Located beside a castle of the same name this house was occupied by John Lalor in 1814. Lewis records the property belonging to J. Lloyd but occupied by the Reverend M.N. Thompson. At the time of Griffith’s Valuation Cranagh was in use as an Auxiliary Poor House and was valued at £25+. The Irish Tourist Association surveyor refers to a 4 storey house built at Crannagh in 1768 by the Lloyd family. The owner in the early 1940s was J. Cullen. This house is no longer in existence.  

http://irishantiquities.bravehost.com/tipperary/cranagh/cranagh.html 

Map Reference: S162695 (2162, 1695) 

Cranagh Castle is a circular tower-house attached to a large 18th century mansion. The castle is three storeys high. It has a pointed doorway in the south and to the left of the door a stairway rises within the wall to first floor level. At this level a curved mural passage contains two murder holes. The stairway changes to a spiral leading to the second floor. John Purcell was listed as the proprietor in 1640 but the castle was apparently ruinous in 1654. It was probably originally a taller building and was reduced in height in the 18th century when the large adjoining house was built. 

Ballyowen (formerly New Park), Cashel, Co Tipperary

by jenjunebug

Ballyowen (formerly New Park), Cashel, Co Tipperary – tours 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 27. “(Pennefather, sub Freese-Pennefeather/LGI1958); McCan, sub Power and O’Connell/IFR) A house of three storeys over basement built ca 1750 by the Pennefather family. Six bay front; two bay pedimented breakfront; Venetian doorway framed by frontispiece of four engaged Corinthian columns and entablature with a Venetian window on either side. Prominent roof; lunette window in pediment. Two bay side. Main staircase rising to top storey. Plaster ceiling in drawing room similar to one at Glin Castle. Pedimented stable block at side of house. Sold after the Famine to the Davies family. Resold 1864 to the McCan family” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/22205316/ballyowen-house-newpark-ballysheehan-pr-tipperary-south

Detached T-plan six-bay three-storey over half-basement country house, built c. 1760, with two-bay pedimented breakfront. Hipped slate roof with rendered chimneystacks having square pots, hexagonal lantern over stairs, carved limestone eaves course and cornice, and cast-iron rainwater goods. Lantern has leaded sides and glazed roof. Painted rendered walls with cut limestone plinth course. Square-headed window openings with limestone sills, having timber sliding sash windows, three-over-three pane to second floor and three-over-six pane to first floor. Venetian window openings to ground floor comprising round-headed six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows with fanlights having decorative ogee detailing and flanked by detached four-over-four pane timber sliding sash side-lights. Lunette-shaped timber-framed window to pediment. Some rear basement windows barred. Entrance comprises engaged Corinthian columns with entablature and dentillated cornice inset with round-headed door opening having moulded render surround and keystone, decorative spandrels, sunburst fanlight and timber panelled double doors, flanked by decorative leaded sidelights. Flight of limestone steps to front elevation with cast-iron railings. Yard to rear of house comprises three ranges of outbuildings and cut limestone segmental-arched carriage arch. Multiple-bay two-storey outbuilding to south range has pitched slate roof, rendered and red brick chimneystacks, and cut limestone bellcote. Painted rendered walls, slate-hung east gable, square-headed openings with three-over-three pane timber sliding sash windows with limestone sills to upper floor and timber battened doors. Nine-bay single-storey outbuilding to south range has pitched slate roof, rendered rubble stone walls and square-headed openings with timber fittings. Eight-bay two-storey outbuilding to west of yard has hipped slate roof with brick chimneystack, painted rendered walls, two-bay pedimented breakfront with lunette window openings and depressed three-centred headed carriage arches with double-leaf timber battened doors, and square-headed door openings and window openings with timber louvred fittings to upper floor and three-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows to lower floor. Seven-bay single-storey outbuilding, formerly pair of workers’ houses, to north of yard has lean-to sheet metal roof, painted rubble stone walls, and square-headed openings with cut limestone voussoirs and timber replacement windows and timber battened doors. Outbuildings to yard to north have pitched and hipped slate roofs, rendered walls and square-headed openings with timber fittings, one with elliptical-headed carriage arch with cut limestone voussoirs and keystone. Walled garden to south-west of house. Entrance to avenue has rendered piers and decorative cast-iron double-leaf gates. 

Built by the Pennef(e)ather family in the eighteenth century, the burgeoning interest of the time in classical antiquity is evident in its use of Serlian window motifs, and a Corinthian order with capitals like those of the Pantheon in Rome. The diminishing windows, pedimented breakfront, decorative restraint, and fanlighted door are also evidence of classical influence. The sculpted door surround, and the leaded fanlights to the windows as well as doors are evidence of the craftsmanship used and the status accorded to this building. Retaining much of its demesne and set in a mature landscape, it makes an interesting group with the outbuildings, gate lodge, walled garden and gates and railings. 

https://www.ballyowenhouse.ie/

Ballyowen House is situated close to one of Ireland’s leading historical heritage site ‘The Rock of Cashel’. Whilst in this beautiful part of Ireland why not pay a visit to historic Ballyowen House. You will get a first hand account of this other historic gem which is located only 4 miles from Cashel.  

  • At Ballyowen House we offer tour groups a wonderful opportunity to experience life in a beautiful old Country House which dates back to 1750. We offer a tour of approx 1 hour, and we will invite you to the dining room of the main house for coffees, teas and scones etc. at the end. 
  • Over the centuries this old place has accumulated a fascinating history and we will share interesting and colourful events from it’s past with you. Ranging from ancient times up to the Irish War of Independence, with lots of colourful details! 
  • We will show you around the Main Rooms of the house, and give a talk on it’s several fine features, many with amusing stories to tell  
  • We will also give you a tour of Ballyowen’s grounds where you can see the beautiful centuries old stable block and barns brought back to life as an active horse showjumping training facility today, where horses are kept in the same stables used centuries ago to keep horses for the Ballyowen’s horse drawn carriages. 
  • The beautiful grounds also include a walled garden which we are restoring. It includes an unusual woodfire heated “vine” wall to help the growing of grapes! It also has an ornamental lake and beautiful old specimen trees and woods, ideal for a lazy Summer stroll… 
  • The big difference with Ballyowen is that it is the fully lived in family home of the hosts and their young family and the grounds, stable yard and farm are active and functioning, this is where we live!  

Ballyowen is set in a well chosen, elevated site and surrounded by acres of fine, mature parkland including an ancient hillside woodland to the rear. Lines of elegant beech trees also add to the natural tranquility  

  

“To quote Yeats, Peace certainly “comes dripping slow” at Ballyowen.” 

Tour Package involves a guided tour of approx 1 hour conducted by the owners both in the main rooms of the beautiful Ballyowen House and of the Stableyard and grounds outside. The visit will be hosted by the owners and visitors will also be treated to teas, coffees and freshly baked scones in Ballyowen House’s elegant main dining room at the end.  

The tour will include very lively and interesting talks and will cover the following: 

  • History – Ballyowen House has fascinating political links to Ireland’s turbulent past from Cromwellian times to the Irish War of Independence, with plenty of intrigue included. 
  • Architecture – outstanding classical Georgian country house built in 1750 with numerous curious details, and a window into life in the past, and many odd stories! 
  • Grounds and Stable Yard – Ballyowen is set in an elegant parkland setting with a beautiful restored stable yard and fully active horse training facility for showjumping horses, and a few surprises? 
  • Woodland Walks – The landscaped parkland grounds around Ballyowen House include a fascinating walled garden, ornamental lake, ancient specimen trees and beautiful walks through old adjoining hillside woodlands, fairies have been seen there too… 

Extra  

Attractions 

Extra Attractions – The hosts also intend to provide additional interesting attractions or activities for visitors and will gladly respond to feedback or preferences from our visitors. Such attractions or activities can include:  

  • Vintage car on site to experience life in the past.  
  • Archery (by arrangement). 
  • Clay Pigeon Shooting (by arrangement). 
  • Meet some newborn lambs (early season) 

Scregg, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon 

by jenjunebug

Scregg, Knockcroghery, Co Roscommon 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 255. “A three storey five bay mid-C18 house. Blocked Diocletian window in centre of front above Venetian window above pedimented tripartite doorway with columns standing forward from the entablature and carrying nothing. Rusticated window surrounds. The seat of the Kelly family.” 

Scregg House, County Roscommon, by Peter Murray, 2020, courtesy Irish Georgian Society.

https://www.igs.ie/conservation/project/scregg-house-co-roscommon

In celebrating National Heritage Week 2022, the Irish Georgian Society is reflecting on projects it has assisted over the last 20 years through its Conservation Grants Programme. Funded through IGS London and IGS Inc (USA), over €1.6m has been awarded during this time. 

Day 9: Scregg House, Co. Roscommon

Built in 1767 by the Kelly family, Scregg House has an impressive façade, characterised by a careful spatial relationship between wall and windows. Above a stone doorcase with triangular temple pediment and sidelights, a round-headed Venetian window gives light to the first floor landing. This, in turn, is surmounted by a large semi-circular Diocletian ‘thermal’ window—named after the thermae, or bathhouses, of ancient Rome. This central spine of doorcase and windows is flanked on either side by eight windows, set two by two and ascending through three stories over basement. The windows are surrounded by cut-stone frames—referred to as ‘Gibbsian’, with keystones and squared blocks of stone projecting at intervals. Located near Mote, in Co. Roscommon, Scregg House is something of a rural palazzo. It may have been designed by the same architect who worked on Ledwithstown House, on the other side of Lough Ree—less than thirty kilometres distant. Although much altered over the years, nearby Newpark House, also has a Diocletian window, but Scregg House is remarkable in that so much of its original architectural quality has been retained.

IGS Grants — 2007: roof and rainwater goods repairs; 2009: window repairs

The work of the Irish Georgian Society is supported through the Heritage Council’s ‘Heritage Capacity Fund 2022’.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/31942001/scregg-house-scregg-ath-n-by-co-roscommon

Detached five-bay three-storey over basement with attic storey former country house, built c.1765, no longer in use. Pitched slate roof with stone chimneystacks and cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast-rendered walls with limestone quoins and tooled limestone cornice. Square-headed window openings with timber sash windows, tooled limestone sills and block-and-start limestone surrounds. Diocletian window to second floor and Venetian window to first floor. Tooled limestone pedimented door surround with engaged Ionic columns with timber panelled door flanked by side lights. Door accessed up limestone steps. Two-storey stone outbuildings to west. Gabled coach house to west with copies of the original Sheela-na-gigs inserted to gable. 

Appraisal 

Scregg House was an exceptional country residence of the Kelly family until c.1980. The alternating treatment of the entrance bay fenestration is characteristic of early to mid eighteenth-century Irish Georgian architecture. Architectural quality is apparent in the decorative treatment of the limestone door surround. The Sheela-na-gigs add an archaeological and artistic significance to the site. 

http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/property-list.jsp?letter=S

A Kelly home built in 1767, occupied by J.E. Kelly in 1837 and Eliza Kelly in the 1850s. In the sale rental of 1856 the house is described as a respectable mansion, 3 stories high with basement and attic stories and a view of the Shannon River. Occupied in 1906 by the representatives of Henry Potts. The house is extant but no longer lived in. It is currently (2009) being restored with support from the Irish Georgian Society, see http://www.igs.ie/Programmes/Conservation-Grants/Scregg-House.aspx  

https://theirishaesthete.com/2020/12/21/scregg/

How long past were the Glories

by theirishaesthete

Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.



‘Inver House embodied one of those large gestures of the minds of the earlier Irish architects, some of which still stand to justify Ireland’s claim to be a civilised country. It was a big, solemn, square house of three stories, built of cut stone, grandly planned, facing west in two immense sweeping curves, with a high-pillared portico between them and stone balustrades around the roof.’

Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.





‘The high windows of the great room were bare of blinds and curtains, and the hot afternoon sun beat in unchecked. It was a corner room, looking south towards the demesne, and its longer western side was built out in a wide, shallow curve, with two massive pillars of green Galway marble marking at either end the spring of the curve, and supporting a heavy gilt cornice above the broad window.’

Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.





‘Everything that had survived of the original conception of the room, the heavy, tall teak doors, with their carved architraves and brass furniture, the huge, brass-mounted fireplace, the high mantelpiece of many coloured marbles, chipped and defaced, but still beautiful, the gorgeous deep-moulded ceiling that Lady Isabella’s Italian workmen had made for her, from the centre of which the wreck of a cut-glass chandelier still hung, all told of the happy conjunction of art and wealth, and of a generous taste that would make the best of both. But a cursory glance would show how long past were the glories of a great room.’

Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.





The above passages are taken from Somerville & Ross’s The Big House of Inver, published in 1925, and while their descriptions of Inver are not an exact match, nonetheless in spirit they seem to capture what one can see, and feel, at Scregg, County Roscommon. Dating from the mid-18th century, the house and surrounding land has for hundreds of years belonged to a branch of the ancient Irish Kelly family and was occupied until the 1980s but has since stood empty. How little in some ways has Ireland changed since the time of Somerville & Ross.

Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.
Scregg, County Roscommon, photograph by Irish Aesthete.

Whigsborough, Birr, Co Offaly

by jenjunebug

Tullanisk (or Tullynisk), Birr, Offaly  https://aguidetoirishcountryhouses.com/2025/01/31/tullynisk-or-tullanisk-formerly-known-as-woodville-county-offaly/

Whigsborough, Birr, Co Offaly  – now a restaurant 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 284. “(Drought/LGI1958) A two storey three bay gable-ended C18 house with a one bay extension of the same height on the left and a slightly lower one bay extension on the right. Round-headed doorway. Gothic tower, probably late C18, on fornt of stables. Fine Classical gate piers with swag friezes.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/14930001/whigsborough-house-whigsborough-county-offaly

Detached four-bay two-storey over basement country house, built c.1760, with outbuildings to rear. Set within its own grounds. Pitched slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles, rendered chimneystack with terracotta pots, cast-iron rainwater goods and tooled stone coping to gables. Roughcast render to walls. Timber sash windows and stone sills to all elevations and oculi to front and rear elevations. Main entrance with round-headed door opening with timber panelled double doors flanked by tooled limestone engaged Doric columns surmounted by petal fanlight. Door accessed by flight of punch-dressed limestone steps flanked by with low sweeping walls. Wrought-iron bootscraper to base of steps. Round-headed door opening to rear site with fanlight and timber panelled door with stone threshold. Multiple-bay two-storey stables to rear site with pitched slate roof and random coursed stone walls. Timber lintels to square-headed door and window openings and timber battened doors. Main entrance with square-profile gate piers of channelled limestone with carved stone swags to frieze surmounted by cornice and capping stone with flanking quadrant walls and wrought-iron gates. 

Whigsborough House overlooks a sloping lawn. In excellent condition, this house portrays some interesting architectural details. A round-headed doorway with a petal fanlight and six-over-six sash windows are two items of significance. Accompanying this house is a wide range of outbuildings, including stables, gardener’s sheds and a walled garden with thick buttressed walls and a tower or folly façade overlooking front lawn. Without a doubt, Whigsborough House makes a positive architectural impact on County Offaly. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/14930002/whigsborough-tower-whigsborough-co-offaly

Gothic style tower façade, erected c.1770, abutting outbuilding and walled garden to north, situated within the grounds of Whigsborough House. Random coursed stone wall to tower with crenellated parapet and pointed-arched window opening with tooled stone tracery. Wall much overgrown with ivy. Outbuilding to north with pitched slate roof with terracotta ridge tiles and cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast render to random coursed stone walls. Segmental-headed integral carriage arch opening leading through to walled garden, with cut stone voussoirs and cobbled flooring. Square-headed door openings with timber battened doors. Walled garden to north with random coursed stone walls with large buttresses supporting south-eastern wall. Gardener’s shed to south of garden with pitched slate roof and random coursed stone walls. 

Appraisal 

This folly to Whigsborough House, abuts the stable and gardener’s complex and is accessed through a large walled garden with thick buttressed walls. This folly is a façade overlooking the extensive grounds of the house. According to the house’s owner a stream with a cut stone bridge once lead to the tower, ferrying people directly to this unusual structure. 

https://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/history-of-a-house-26431790.html

Caitriona Murphy 

March 21 2008 0:00 AM 

  •  

Character, charm and comfort: three fundamental features of a country pile and without which any large house could easily become soulless. Lucky then that Whigsborough House in Co Offaly, soon to be listed, has all three of these things in spades. 

At 756 sqm, no one will quibble about its size. With 10 bedrooms, six reception rooms, a library and kitchen inside and 13 acres of land outside, this house is certainly not short on space. 

However, it is the warmth of the house that makes it so special. 

Current owners Eamonn and Anna Heagney have decided to sell the house in order to downsize, but they don’t mind admitting that the move will be a big wrench for both themselves, their four daughters and their beloved pony, Foggy. 

“There’s something about the house that just embraces you,” explains Anna. “It’s something really, really special — a warmth and atmosphere that reaches out to you.” 

Swedish-born Anna knew Whigsborough before she and Eamonn bought the place as she had rented the house for a number of years. 

The pair now run the property as a guesthouse and they have developed their services such a high level that Whigsborough House is currently the only guesthouse in Co Offaly to grace the inside of the prestigious Bridgestone Guide. 

Although the main house was in excellent condition when they moved in, the family undertook major renovation of the basement floor, including installation of under-floor heating. 

“We made this floor our own private house, with all the guest accommodation upstairs,” explains Eamonn. 

“We renovated in a way that was sympathetic to the original house — the walls are all whitewashed and we found lots of the original bread ovens or kilns in the walls.” 

The house is choc-full of character, with part of the house dating back to 1715. 

Originally Dowris House, the residence was added to over the years and the archaeological find known as the Dowris Hoard was unearthed on the grounds of the original estate. It’s said that the Dowris Hoard was found in either 1825 or 1833 by two men trenching potatoes. 

History and romance fill the house; from the circular petal window in the library, where a maid would place a lighted candle to signal to her local lover, to the maple-floored ballroom and 1.5-acre walled garden outside. 

Surrounded by London Plane trees, the interior of the house pays compliment to its rural setting. The kitchen cabinets and bookshelves in the library were made from trees which fell on the estate. 

Outside, the yard has an array of outbuildings including six stables, a 325 sqm stone lofted barn and stone coach houses, one of which has already been converted into an apartment. 

Whigsborough House stands on 13 acres in Fivealley, Birr, Co Offaly and is for sale by private treaty. Contact DNG Purcell Birr on 057 9120270. Asking price €1.8m 

https://www.discoverireland.ie/Food-And-Drink/whigsborough-house/62859

Fivealley 
Birr 
Offaly 
Republic of Ireland 

 +353 57 9133318  

whigsborough@eircom.net 

Whigsborough House is a beautiful Georgian house set in mature grounds, just five miles from the town of Birr.  
 
Whigsborough House has a growing reputation for hospitality, good food and wine and is a unique and very special dining experience. Pre-booking essential. 

Syngefield, Birr, Co Offaly

by jenjunebug

Syngefield, Birr, Co Offaly – dilapidated 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 269. “Synge, Bt/PB) A mid-C18 house of two storeys over basement; originally of seven bays; with a Gothic-glazed Venetian window in both storeys of the two bay ends of the front, and another in the middle, above a Venetian doorway. Diocletian windows in the end bays of the basement; round-headed windows in the basement on either side of the balustraded entrance steps. After a fire, one of the end bays was removed, so that the front ceased to be symmetrical.” 

Syngefield, County Offaly, courtesy of Mark Bence-Jones.

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/14935005/syngefield-house-clonoghil-upper-county-offaly

Detached former U-plan five-bay two-storey former country house, built c.1760, with single-bay added to west, with three-storey return perpendicular to rear house, three-storey lean-to extension to rear, three-storey flat-roofed extension to rear. Wings to rear have been demolished. Set within its own grounds. Now derelict. Pitched slate roof, hipped to west end with terracotta ridge tiles and rendered chimneystacks. Pitched slate roof to return with rendered chimneystack. Lean-to slate roof and flat roof to extensions. Roughcast rendered walls with wrought-iron balcony inserted to first floor of facade. Timber sash windows with tooled stone sills. Venetian window to central bay of façade and to extended western end bay. Blocked up Diocletian window opening to basement level of western end bay. Blocked up round-headed window opening to basement of façade. Round-headed entrance door opening having timber frame, timber panelled door and flanking square-headed sidelights. Stone entrance steps flanked by rendered balustrade. Demolished stone outbuilding and random coursed stone wall to rear site. Stone entrance gates to road, erected c.1710, with ashlar limestone square-profile gate piers surmounted by moulded capping and ball finials. Wrought-iron gates. Flanking blocked up square-headed pedestrian entrances stone surrounds. 

Though derelict and uninhabited, this fine country house at Syngefield Demesne remains impressive in both design and stature. Palladian motifs including Venetian windows, entrance door and a blocked up Diocletian windows give this fine building a classically inspired character. The long avenue is accessed through tall and imposing dark limestone gate piers, which are a notable feature on the road heading south-east from Birr town. 

https://theirishaesthete.com/2018/11/26/syngefield/

Complying with Strict Conditions of Conservation?

by theirishaesthete

Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.



In February 2001 the Irish Times reported that Syngefield, County Offaly was being offered for sale. The mid-18th century house had stood vacant for more than two decades, and inevitably was in poor repair as a result. Once surrounded by a substantial amount of land, it now stood on five acres, with factories on either side of the drive, and the outbuildings already sold off. Meanwhile much of the house’s original interior had been either vandalized or stolen – all the chimneypieces were gone, for example – but enough remained, as photographs taken at the time can demonstrate. Most of the main staircase was intact, along with windowcases, lugged architraves, floorboards and some plasterwork. Of particular interest in the Irish Times feature was the information that whoever purchased the property ‘will have to comply with the strict conditions of conservation. Birr Urban District Council sought the advice of the Heritage Council and the property has been assessed by an independent conservation service.’ Hence while the guide price was low – in the region of £150,000 – the costs of bringing Syngefield back to life would be considerably higher.

Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.






As is so often the case in Ireland, the origins of Syngefield are unclear. It belonged to a branch of the Synges, cousins of the playwright John Millington Synge, and the house appears to have been built in the middle of the 18th century, perhaps around 1752 when Edward Synge married Sophia Hutchinson. There were many Edward Synges during the Georgian period, almost all of them Anglican clergymen: this one was the grandson of Edward Synge, Archbishop of Tuam and nephew of Edward Synge, Bishop of Elphin and son of Nicholas Synge, Bishop of Killaloe. It was therefore almost inevitable that he too would join the church, becoming archdeacon of Killala, as well as rector of Birr, County Offaly, hence the construction of Syngefield. His eldest son, another Edward, followed the family example and became an Anglican clergyman but a younger son, Robert, became a baronet and it was his family that continued to live in the property. At the time the Synges owned land not just in Offaly but also Counties Meath and Cork. Descendants appear to have remained in residence at Syngefield until c.1870 after which the house was sporadically let, and then sold in the last century.

Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.
Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.






Syngefield was a curious house, owing to its lop-sided appearance. Of two storeys over a semi-raised basement, it had six bays, that to the furthest left featuring Venetian windows on both ground and first floors, aping one on the upper floor above the entrance doorcase (Another oddity were the Diocletian windows in the basement.) A number of writers have proposed that a matching bay at the other end of the house had been built, thereby completing the symmetry of the façade, but that this was lost in a fire at some unspecified date. However, just as possible is that the original mid-18th century house comprised the five centre bays. The left-hand bay is a later addition, with a match at the other end of the building intended but never built owing to shortage of funds, a not-unusual situation in Ireland. In any case, when a new owner acquired the property in 2002, he decided to finish the house as was once perhaps conceived by tacking a new bay to the right of the existing property. He also doubled the size of Syngefield thanks to a vast extension at the rear that was to include a basement swimming pool, home cinema, ballroom and more bedrooms: readers can judge for themselves whether this work complied, as the Irish Times had reported would be the case, ‘with the strict conditions of conservation.’ This job, said to have cost in the region of €1 million, was never completed, presumably owing to the onset of economic recession, and in October 2009 Syngefield was offered for sale again. There appear to have been no takers, because today the unfinished structure stands with exterior and interior alike bereft of every original feature. How is it that what was intended to be a model of correct conservation came to look like this?

Syngefield, County Offaly, photograph courtesy of Irish Aesthete.

Lough Bawn, Rockcorry, Co Monaghan

by jenjunebug

Lough Bawn, Rockcorry, Co Monaghan 

Mark Bence-Jones. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.

p. 191. “(Hanbury-Tenison/IFR) A two storey house in the manner of Francis Johnston, rebuilt after the previous house was destroyed by fire 1795. Three bay front, centre bay breaking forward slightly; eaved roof. Shallow porch with coupled Doric columns; fanlight over doorway and sidelights. On either side of the porch, a Wyatt window under a shallow relieving arch. Central dormer with oval Adamesque fan panel between two windows. Two storey wings, set back. Stable yard behind house.” 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/41402716/loughbawn-house-shantony-co-monaghan

Lough Bawn, County Monaghan, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.

Complex-plan country house, built c.1815, incorporating earlier house and with further blocks added. Three-bay two-storey over basement entrance block incorporating earlier house of c.1760 to rear (west) elevation, having single-bay three-storey over raised basement return to middle of rear with one-bay one and two-storey bay to south side of return, three-bay south and four-bay side elevations to entrance block, and with lower blocks to north-west and south-west corners, four-bay to former with single-bay projection to front re-entrant corner, and three-bay to latter. Courtyard of outbuildings to rear of house. Shallow projecting breakfront to front (east) elevation. Hipped slate roofs, pitched to west end of north elevation, with rendered chimneystacks having string course and clay pots, moulded eaves brackets and cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat-roofed dormer window to front pitch. Dressed stone bell-cote to west end wall of south-western block. Roughcast rendered walls having render plinth course and quoins. One round-headed window to rear elevation of entrance blcok and of north-west block, with six-over-six pane and three-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows. Windows elsewhere are square-headed, six-over-six pane to front elevation, to north-west block, ground floor of south-west block and most of rear elevations, and three-over-three pane to first floor of south elevation of entrance block and south-west block. Two margined timber casement windows to ground floor of side elevations of entrance block. Ground floor windows of entrance block re tripartite and set within segmental-headed recessed openings, Bull’s-eye window with render surround and timber framed window to first floor of north elevation of entrance block. Some cast-iron railings to windows to north elevation. Dormer window comprises two three-over-three pane windows flanking recessed moulded panel having oval patera. Masonry sills throughout. Doric-style pediment added to front c.1950, comprising paired render engaged columns supporting entablature. Elliptical-headed door opening with timber panelled door and margeined sidelights, openings flanked by fluted engaged pilasters supporting entablature, petal fanlight with moulded render surround, approached by concrete platform and three steps. Round-headed door opening to south elevation, having timber panelled door and fanlight with Y-tracery, opening onto stone steps. Gardens around house, bounded by rubble stone walls with garden gate. Extensive lawned grounds to site. Lodge, bridge, boathouse and well to grounds, near house. 

Appraisal 

This elegantly-proportioned country house has been substantially enlarged over the years, much of the original house having been destroyed by fire in the late eighteenth century. Architectural quality and design are apparent in the form and fabric of the house, notably in the variety of fenestration. It retains much of its early fabric, both internally and externally. The survival of attendant outbuildings, walled garden, boat house and limekiln provide contextual interest. The demesne landscape was planned so as to provide pleasing sweeping vistas both to and from the house, as it is sited overlooking two lakes, and within view of a number of churches, and is a good example of early landscaping. 

https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/41402715/loughbawn-house-shantony-co-monaghan

Attached L-plan multiple-bay two-storey outbuildings, built c.1790, comprising seven-bay range to west boundary having integral carriage arch, and seven-bay range to north range, around courtyard to rear (west) of house, having hipped slate roofs with rendered chimneystacks and replacement rainwater goods, roughcast rendered walls, with rubble stone visible to rear (west) elevation, square-headed openings to first floor having masonry sills, mixed three-over-three-pane timber sliding sash windows, timber louvered vents, and timber battened shutters, square-headed window openings to ground floor with masonry sills and mixed timber battened shutters and timber sliding sash windows having four-over-four panes or six-over-six panes, square-headed door openings having glazed over-lights and double-leaf timber battened doors, segmental-headed carriage arches with dressed stone surrounds, keystones, double-leaf timber battened doors and glazed over-lights, ans segmental-headed integral carriage arch to west range having dressed stone surround, and with red brick to interior walls. Timber stalls and tack room fittings remain to interior. Gauged red brick surrounds to openings to west elevation of west range. Detached four-bay two-storey outbuilding to rear of courtyard, having external staircase to front (south) elevation, hipped tiled roof with red brick chimneystacks and roof-lights, rubble stone walls, square-headed window openings, some having gauged brick surrounds, with masonry sills and six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows, square-headed pitching door at first floor level to front elevation with gauged red brick surround and timber panelled double-leaf door, square-headed door openings to ground floor, elliptical-headed carriage arches to north elevation. Red brick vaulted ceiling to interior. Rubble stone boundary wall to north, having segmental carriage arch. Single-storey three-bay outbuilding to north of complex, having projecting end bay with catslide roof to front elevation, and with single-storey two-bay outbuilding attached to gable, with hipped slate roof having red brick eaves course, terracotta ridge tiles and red brick chimneystack and clay pot, rubble stone walls with squared quoins, and square-headed door openings to front (east) elevation having red brick voussoirs. Vestiges of cobbles to yard. South of stable yard enclosed by rendered wall. Double-leaf timber battened gate flanked by square-profile dressed stone piers having moulded string courses and ball finials.  

Appraisal 

The stable yard of Loughbawn House is a fine example of planned outbuildings associated with demesne landscapes in Ireland and reflects the wider planning of the demesne landscape as a whole. It is elegantly proportioned and neatly laid out, comprising an L-plan range surrounding a cobbled yard, with additional buildings forming an outer yard to the rear. Much of the original form and fabric is retained, notably original timber fittings to the interior, which provides rare contextual interest. Features such as dressed stone surrounds attest to the employment of skilled craftsmanship in the construction of these outbuildings, which make an important contribution to the architectural heritage of the region. 

Lough Bawn, County Monaghan, photograph courtesy of National Inventory.